Commercial property values to fall 11 percent in response to Brexit

UK commercial property prices will fall by a double digit percentage over the next six months, according to new research by property consultancy Lambert Smith Hampton. The latest edition of the company’s quarterly UK Investment Transactions report predicts that market uncertainty generated by the UK’s decision to leave the EU will lead to an 11% fall in capital values by the end of 2016.
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2016 Industrial and Logistics Market Report published

The 2016 edition of our annual Industrial and Logistics Market Report, published today, reveals that 2015 was a sound year for the industrial and logistics occupier market, albeit fortunes were mixed across sectors and regions. The supply of industrial and logistics space fell to a record low of 200m sq ft in 2015 – down from a peak of 360m sq ft in 2012 - as take-up reached 96.4m sq ft, marginally above its recent average.

The return of renting

Lambert Smith Hampton, Countrywide and Hamptons International argue in their latest joint research report, 'How we live: the return of renting', that the rental market needs to be much better understood.
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Supreme Court decision highlights need for break clause advice

Gareth Lester-Jones, Director of Lease Advisory at
LSH’s Birmingham office, said a ruling over a dispute between Marks &
Spencer and former landlords BNP Paribas Securities Services Trust has brought
certainty to a once grey area at the centre of many tenant/landlord wrangles.

Supreme Court ruling will have major financial consequences for business occupiers

Following the case of Woolway (Valuation Officer) v Mazars LLP, all non-adjacent floors in single occupation will now be separately assessed for rating purposes, increasing the amount of rates payable for thousands of occupiers.

Small window of opportunity for business rates refunds?

Many businesses across the UK could still receive a full five years’ worth of refunds in respect of their business rates owing to a small window of opportunity in the current appeal system. However, there is an element of caution to be applied.